Intel Developer Forum, Shenzhen - Intel (China) Co., Ltd. announced at the Intel Developer Forum Fall 2003 in Shenzhen today a strategic cooperation agreement with leading Chinese finance company Ping An of China (PAIC) to enable and deploy end-to-end solutions based on Intel® Architecture (IA) and Intel® Personal Internet Client Architecture (Intel PCA). According to the agreement, PAIC will fully adopt Intel-based platforms for enterprise servers, desktop and notebooks and personal handheld devices for its asset insurance, securities, life insurance and other businesses. PAIC will also progressively increase its investment in Intel technologies, products and solutions to reduce its total cost of ownership (TCO), increasing the return on IT investment (ROI) and enhancing its business operations and applications are the key drivers of PAIC's decision. Intel will provide corresponding resources to support PAIC's endeavor, particularly in the development of financial applications including validation, testing, migration, and optimization of IA-based products and solutions. Intel's support will be focused on helping PAIC reduce R&D cost and decision risk, while accelerating the time to market of new products. The agreement represents a significant milestone for Intel architecture and solution building blocks in the finance industry, especially in China. It also demonstrates the overall momentum and rapid, wide-spread adoption of open, standards-based solutions built and developed on Intel architecture. "A reliable, scalable and high-performance IT infrastructure is fundamental to the success of PAIC in China's dynamic and highly competitive finance and insurance industry. That is why we have always paid special attention to our IT planning and investment, working closely with technology players like Intel," said Mr. Henry Ma, CTO of PAIC. "As a leading insurance and finance company, we need a technology infrastructure that enables and drives growth. Solutions based on Intel® technology will help PAIC reduce costs and increase operating efficiency. Most importantly, it will contribute to our commitment to continuously provide comprehensive, competitive and excellent service to our customers." "The right solutions platform is critical to the enterprise IT infrastructure and successful business operations. Solutions based on Intel platforms enable reliable system manageability and integration through a flexible and highly available IT infrastructure based on open standards," said Mr. Tom Burns, Director of Intel Asia Pacific Internet Solutions Group. "Intel provides and enables technology, tools, and ecosystem support for solutions that help financial service companies stay competitive. We are committed to working closely with leading companies like PAIC to help build a solid IT foundation for the Chinese finance industry." He added that Intel works closely with a broad range of hardware vendors and software developers to accelerate the adoption of open, standards-based Intel architecture founded on performance leading products such as like the Intel Itanium and Xeon processor families for servers and Intel Pentium 4 processors with Hyper-Threading Technology for desktops.